India

Our favorite Clintonian Desi, Sonal Shah, has been appointed to a subcabinet level post in the Obama Administration as I had suggested she might be to those who had argued it didn't matter that she was on Obama's transition team even though she has well documented ties to American arms of Hindu right groups in India that she hasn't fully explained beyond offering basic statements that she doesn't like violence or communalism. Among unanswered questions:

India's immediate neighborhood comprises of countries that are becoming increasingly politically unstable. While the problems of Pakistan and Afghanistan make it to the headlines of newspapers worldwide, these two countries are not the only ones witnessing serious internal turmoil.

Protesting Sri Lankan Tamils are being blamed for beheading the statue of Jawaharlal Nehru outside India House in London. Indian diplomats were informed of the statue’s desecration when they arrived at the premises of the High Commission in Aldwych this morning. The remains of the statue have been bound in a white sheet and are visible for all to see. When contacted, India’s High Commissioner to UK Shiv Shankar Mukherjee said: “The statue has been damaged and the police are investigating.

Imagine my absolute happiness when a former wannabe ULFA and actual AASU Agitator who got packed off to study architecture in Chandigarh (and so didn’t join ULFA), was more than happy to introduce me to his friend, S.

I saw “Slumdog Millionaire” months ago, before the Oscars but after its appeal had risen to fever-pitch in the more multi-cultish corners of the US, like my very own Bay Area. I arrived early with my friend and the theater was packed with well-heeled, wide open-minded Berkeleyans, and this was well before the previews. And the next two hours were very enjoyable – the plot, if a bit saccharine, was also snappy and well-executed, the supersaturated colours were beautiful and it was not Bollywood length: all positives. By the time the credits came around and there was all that dancing at VT, I realized that that was the first and last dance number, also a major appeal. I liked it. I felt like Danny Boyle had given me a good time: it was Bollywood-ish enough not to feel completely fake, not Bollywood enough to require Excedrin before the intermission. But with enjoyment came some unease.

Of these 79 fishermen, 78 have been imprisoned in India while one is in the custody of Maldives, he said on Thursday. Steps have already been taken to get these fishermen released and requests have been submitted in this regard through diplomatic channels to mediate with India and Maldives by the Foreign Ministry, Mr. Perera told Parliament while responding to a question by lawmaker Jinadasa Kitulagoda. "The Government's intention is to get these fishermen freed as soon as possible," he said.